Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
The Nikki Haley we saw at the debate could beat a Democrat in 2024
The Nikki Haley on stage during the first Republican primary debate would be a strong candidate in a general election against any Democrat. While the former South Carolina governor was shining, Sen. Tim Scott faded, performing as though his objective was to preserve the possibility Donald Trump might pick him as a running mate, not to win the nomination himself.
I was genuinely surprised by Haley. She sounded like the Haley I’ve been covering since her first run for governor to before she gave in, like most other Republican officials, and bent the knee to Donald Trump. I thought that version of Haley was dead, but there she was, proudly on stage Wednesday night.
She spoke hard truths to what she knew might be an unreceptive audience. The debate was hosted by Fox News — a right-wing operation posing as news — which had to pay $787 million to settle a lawsuit because of its role in spreading lies about the 2020 election. The debate crowd was clearly pro-trump, supporting a front-runner who didn’t even bother to show up. It made Haley’s decision to refuse to kowtow to the former president the way Vivek Ramaswamy did even bolder.
She was aggressive when necessary, particularly in exchanges with Ramaswamy, and measured and nuanced when that made the most sense.
She said Trump was one of the most disliked politicians in the country — because he is — something the crowd did not want to hear.
She had no problem asserting that former Vice President Mike Pence did the right thing during the certification process for the 2020 election — because he did — something the crowd really didn’t want to be told.
“(President Joe) Biden didn’t do this to us; our Republicans did this to us too,” Haley said when the debate turned to the deficit and the country’s fiscal reality. “Donald Trump added $8 trillion to our debt, and our kids are never going to forgive us.”
She didn’t lie about the Democratic position on abortion like others on
stage did — falsely claiming the party is in favor of abortion up until the moment of birth — and instead spoke of the need to create an environment so that a compromise might be possible at the national level.
“Can’t we all agree that we should ban late-term abortions? Can’t we all agree that we should encourage adoptions? Can’t we all agree that doctors and nurses who don’t believe in abortions shouldn’t have to perform them?” Haley said. “Can’t we agree that contraception should be available? Can’t we all agree that we are not going to put a woman in jail or give her the death penalty if she gets an abortion?”
She didn’t get into the anti-woke Olympics Florida Gov. Ron Desantis is famous for, instead saying “we’ve gotta get kids reading” and advocating for more vocational classes and the old conservative hobby horse, school choice.
She even put her foreign policy experience as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration on display, deftly explaining why America’s support of Ukraine in its attempts to beat back an invasion by Russia is in our best interest, a point hotly debated among Republicans.
“You are choosing a murderer over
a pro-american country ... You have no foreign policy experience and it shows,” she slammed Ramaswamy. “Ukraine is the first line of defense for us.”
Scott, meanwhile, was wallpaper, saying nothing of note though twice reminding us he grew up in a single-mother household, citing a Bible verse and taking an odd broadside against trans athletes.
I don’t know what this means for the race, though I wouldn’t be surprised if Ramaswamy ticks up in the polls among Republicans given that he mimicked Trump’s 2016 primary debate performances. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Haley receives more good press than increased political support within the GOP.
The fact is “the elephant not in the room,” as moderator Bret Baier referred to Trump, remains the heavy favorite to capture his third consecutive GOP presidential nomination. Nothing that occurred on that stage Wednesday night did much to change that.
But at least Haley can rightfully claim she didn’t bow down to Trump for once.